Wedding gift from Edward Seago top of the list for East Anglian Artists at Bonhams

Strong prices were achieved at Bonhams annual auction of East Anglian Art in London this week. The East Anglian Picture section of the Modern British and Irish Art sale on the 19th November achieved £309,312.

The top lot was Boats on the hard, Pin-Mill by Edward Seago, one of East Anglia's finest artists, which near doubled its high estimate as it sold for £32,500. The oil on canvas painting was given as a wedding present by Seago to the seller.

Edward Seago (1910–1974) painted in both oils and watercolors. The son of a coal merchant, Seago was a self-taught artist (although he received advice from Sir Alfred Munnings and Bertram Priestman) and enjoyed a wide range of admirers including the British Royal family. At fourteen, he won an award from the Royal Drawing Society.

Other highlights in the sale were works by Sir Alfred Munnings (1878-1959), Off into the fields, a fine watercolor of horses which achieved £21,250 and River scene at dusk which realized the same figure. Both paintings doubled their pre-sale estimates.

Other top lots included Cattle resting, a striking canvas of a well known subject matter by Sir John Alfred Arnesby Brown (1866-1955), which sold for £11,250. The Nottingham-born pair, Arnesby Brown and Campbell Mellon both settled in the East Anglia region after becoming inspired by the landscape. Both artists featured frequently in the auction.

Snow on the beach, an enchanting oil painting by Mary Potter (1900-1981) depicting the coast at Aldeburgh during winter, sold for £11,250.

Michael Steel, Regional Director at Bonhams commented, "Previewing the pictures at a local level and then selling in London allows us to reach out to a wider more interested audience. The area has a distinctive history in terms of artistic talent and it is pleasing to see this reflected in a number of strong prices we achieved at the sale".

NOTES FOR EDITORS

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street and Knightsbridge; and a further three in the UK regions and Scotland. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, New York and Connecticut in the USA; and Germany, France, Monaco, Hong Kong and Australia. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 60 specialist areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments go to www.bonhams.com